Members enjoy the national holidays that are recognized by their sponsoring organization or
sub-site and are given as time off to the rest of the organization’s personnel. Members do not
get excused leave for federal holidays that are not recognized by their sponsoring
organization and/or sub-site. For example, if your organization does not give its staff a
holiday for Veterans Day, you are expected to serve unless you request and receive approval
for one day of personal leave. Additionally, if you want a day off for a religious observance,
you should request a day of personal leave. Please contact your sponsoring organization to
determine recognized holidays.

If your sponsoring organization provides its staff additional “floating holidays,” “spring
breaks,” “summer recesses,” etc., you are expected to continue to serve on your assignment
unless authorized to take the time off as part of your personal leave. In such cases, an
alternative service site for a limited duration may be considered if approved in advance by
the supervisor and AmeriCorps Senior Portfolio Manager. Review the Alternative Service
Site section later in this chapter for approval requirements.

You are entitled to 10 service days of personal leave during each full year of service. A service
day is equivalent to the number of hours your sponsoring organization considers a typical full
day of service. If you reenroll or extend service with the same project without a break in
service, you are entitled to any unused personal leave earned in your prior term of service.
Members who extend their period of service earn one day of personal leave for every 30 days
of the extension.

You must request and receive approval in advance from the sponsoring
organization/supervisor for all personal leave, specifying the dates of leave requested.
During personal leave, all regular member allowances are continued. AmeriCorps does not
pay travel expenses for personal leave.

Summer associates are entitled to 3 service days of leave during each summer associate term
of service. This leave is provided in recognition that even during a short commitment, like the
summer associate 8-, 9-, or 10-week program, members often have health or other personal
reasons to need to be excused from a day of service.

Members are entitled to 10 service days of medical leave during each full year of service. If
you reenroll or extend service with the same project without a break in service, you are
entitled to any unused medical leave earned in your prior term of service. Members who
extend their period of service earn one day of medical leave for every 30 days of the
extension. A service day is equivalent to the number of hours your sponsoring organization
considers a typical full day of work. Partial days of medical leave also may be granted to the
member. All living allowances continue during medical leave periods.

You are required to request prior approval for medical leave, except for extenuating
circumstances when you are physically unable to request prior approval, from the sponsoring
organization or supervisor. You should also specify the hours or dates of leave requested.
The sponsoring organization or supervisor must notify the AmeriCorps Senior Portfolio
Manager immediately if it appears that you will not be able to resume project duties within
the maximum medical leave period of 10 service days. The AmeriCorps Senior Portfolio
Manager may approve an extension of your medical leave for up to another five (5) service
days in cases of extended recuperation and in which you are likely to return to the project
within the approved leave period, or in the event of some delay in obtaining a prognosis of
your medical condition within the approved leave period.

The sponsoring organization may grant you up to five service days of emergency leave.
During emergency leave, all allowances continue. Emergency leave is granted in two types of
exigent situations. First, it may be granted if you serve in an area where a natural disaster
occurs and requires you to leave the area temporarily, or are unable to serve as a result of the
natural disaster. Second, emergency leave may be granted if an immediate family member
(spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, or guardian) becomes critically
ill or dies. Emergency leave does not count against your personal leave time.

If circumstances require you to take emergency leave, you should notify the sponsoring
organization or supervisor at once and, if requested, provide the sponsoring organization or
supervisor with some evidence of the emergency. If the sponsoring organization determines
that an emergency exists, the sponsoring organization will inform the AmeriCorps Regional
Office.

If travel is required, AmeriCorps VISTA will pay for the fastest regularly scheduled means of
transportation to and from the site of the emergency or to your home of record, provided the
destination is in the United States or a U.S. territory. The VMSU may arrange travel for
members when able to do so within the time requirements.
If the member arranges or purchases their own transportation, the member must submit
receipts for all reimbursable costs. All requests for reimbursements will be reviewed by the
VMSU for accurate and reasonable costs.

In the event that AmeriCorps cannot pay for or provide a prepaid ticket in advance of the
approved emergency leave, the sponsoring organization may furnish the needed travel
assistance. Such advances, however, should be authorized by the AmeriCorps Regional
Office.